Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Facing a double-digit second-half deficit in its first game following the holiday break City High was searching or answers.

The Little Hawks found the formula – a little bit of belief mixed with a couple of adjustments.

Class 5A No. 11 City High rallied for a 42-39 overtime win over Class 4A top-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (8-1) in a non-conference showdown on Saturday morning in Iowa City.

“We are a pretty good team at adjusting to things and I think the more stayed in it the more they believed they could stay in it,” City High coach Lynsey Barnard said. “That was the difference, a little bit of belief and a lot of adjustment.”

The combination of belief and adjustment resulted in what the Little Hawks hope is a momentum-building win to open 2026.

Sophomore Eve Vitense hit key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime and finished with 12 points while senior guard Tessa Driscoll made five free throws in the final five minutes as City High improved to 8-2.

The win comes in the third game of a five-game stretch for City High against ranked teams.

City High hosts 5A sixth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie on Tuesday and travels to 5A eighth-ranked Cedar Falls on Friday.

“I think it’s really big, it’s big to start off the year like that because we have a big week with Prairie and Cedar Falls,” Driscoll said. “We wanted to start off on a strong note.”

City High didn’t start strong on Saturday in a game that tipped off at 10:30 a.m.

The Little Hawks trailed 9-6 after the first quarter and 22-14 at halftime after committing 12 first-half turnovers.

Dallas Center-Grimes led 27-20 late in the third quarter when City High mounted its rally.

Driscoll started a 5-0 run over the final 1:04 of the quarter with a pair of free throws and cut the lead to 27-25 with a layup that just beat the third quarter buzzer that came following a Hattie Galloway steal.

“We just push through now,” Driscoll said. “We are a big second-half team this year and I don’t think last year we had that really. We are really getting better at finishing games.”

Vitense gave City High its first lead since 6-5 with a 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining but Dallas Center-Grimes pushed back.

The Mustangs led 34-30 with under a minute to play before City High again rallied.

Driscoll cut the lead to 34-32 with a pair of free throws and City High tied the game when Maybes Miller scored on a back cut layup with two seconds left in regulation.

“We were trying to get a three for me but we can also get a layup off that play and Maybes read it perfect,” Driscoll said. “She made a great cut.”

Miller had missed her first four field goal attempts before converting the layup that tied the game at 34.

“Maybes just relies on her habits and her habits are so good, so fundamental,” Barnard said. “Even if a play breaks down she knows the right thing to do. That play broke down, she knew the right read and a kid that hadn’t shot well all game makes a game-tying layup. You can’t really script it up any better than that.”

Vitense gave City High a lead eight seconds into overtime and the Little Hawks never trailed again.

The sophomore guard buried her fourth 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key less than 10 seconds into the four-minute overtime.

“I was ready to shoot, that’s kind of what my role is,” Vitense said. “I was wide open, there was no one there and I knew I had to take it.”
Dallas Center-Grimes pulled even at 39-39 but Driscoll made three free throws in the final 20 seconds to pull out the win.

The senior guard was fouled on a drive and made two free throws with 19.4 seconds remaining and City High got a defensive stop on the next possession.

“When we play good teams like Dallas Center-Grimes we play to there level and even better,” Vitense said. “Playing those ranked teams it motivates us even more.”

Kaitlin Loria had nine points and Galloway had four points and nine rebounds for City High.

“Everybody stepped up, everybody made a big play,” Driscoll said. “We had countless players step up and make a huge play whether it was in the fourth quarter or overtime. Everybody stepped up and the energy picks up when everyone starts making plays.”

Dallas Center-Grimes          9  13   5   7  5  –  39

City High                                   6   8   11  9  8  –  42

Dallas Center-Grimes (39) – Leah Brauch 2-10 2-2 7, Macy Meyer 3-9 0-0 7, Ava Smid 7-14 1-4 15, Addie Abens 1-2 0-4 2, Aniyah Boens 2-2 0-0 4, Paisley Heidgerken 0-4 1-2 1, Tessa Jones 1-3 0-0 3, Totals 16-44 4-12 39.

City High (42) – Eve Vitense 4-6 0-0 12, Maybes Miller 1-6 0-0 2, Hattie Galloway 1-3 2-4 4, Thisbe Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Kaitlin Loria 4-6 0-0 9, Halle Larew 1-3 0-0 2, Tessa Driscoll 2-8 7-8 11, Totals 14-33 9-12 42.

3-point field goal – DCG 3-15 (Brauch 1-6, Meyer 1-3, Smid 0-1, Abens 0-1, Heidgerken 0-1, Jones 1-3), ICH 5-17 (Vitense 4-5, Miller 0-5, Galloway 0-1, Loria 1-2, Driscoll 0-4). Rebounds – DCG 25 (Smid 6), ICH 26 (Galloway 9). Turnovers – DCG 11, ICH 18. Total fouls – DCG 12, ICH 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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